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River ... I always thought she was the most annoying character in terms of her actions, even if her character story was one of the more intriguing ones.

That pretty well sums up my thoughts as well. However, I thought the circumstances of her government tampering and subsequent escape did more to make Simon interesting, not River. I was always impressed with Simon's self sacrifice, giving up his rightfully earned status and everything he knew for the love of his sister. River herself, on the other hand, was just pointless and annoying.

Inara. Don't know what it is about her, but I just loathe her. I didn't really like River in the series; I was always waiting for her character to "get started" (a bit like Inara - except with her I didn't care). I really liked River in Serenity, though.

For me it's Zoe. I never quite bought her chemistry with Wash until it was too late (her last few scenes in Serenity are terrific) and overall she never quite gelled with the rest of the characters, IMO. Nothing to do with the actress---I think all the show's actors were really great, but something about the writing just didn't click properly for me. Do you love all nine of 'em, or is there one you can single out as "least favorite?" Even if only a little.

I have to go with Zoe as well. She never got fleshed out compared to the other characters — even the ones like Book and River that they were trying to keep mysterious — and as a result, came across as a bit 2D. No negative reflection on Gina Torres; I enjoyed her portrayal. I think if Firefly had had a longer run than 14 episodes, one movie, and two comic book miniseries, we'd have eventually seen some more background for Zoe beyond "Mal's right hand."

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"They quickly settled on the slender island at the head of the bay, which they called 'Mannahatta', after an old Indian word thought by some to mean 'island of hills', and by others 'place of general inebriation'."—New York: A Documentary Film

Apart from Mal, the Tams and maybe Book, I thought they were all pretty terrible. They actually average to less than the Enterprise crew in my eyes, and I found that crew the least interesting of all the Treks.

Truth be told, I'd be hard-pressed to come up with a show I liked that had worse characters, though in fairness, I don't like Firefly. Zoe and Wash were perfect for each other in that each was blander than the other. Jayne was a moron. Kaylee's name makes me think "porn star" every time, and she often acts like a porn star trying to be giggly, though she does that fairly well. Inara was as bland as the married couple, though she at least had an interesting face. River isn't really interesting either, I just like the rescuing-older-sibling dynamic.

That makes two good characters (Mal and Simon), one okay one (Book) and six lame ones. Even Enterprise only really had one clunker in Mayweather, and there it was as much the actor as the character.

The draws for the show and movie were Mal, the Tam story, the setting and the writing. Along with the meandering story, the characters were its biggest setback.

^I'm no died in the wool browncoat, I've only seen the series once, and Serenity twice. And I suppose different folks can always see things differently.

But how in the world anyone can see the Enterprise characters as more interesting than the Firefly characters is something I would like to see explored in more depth. The entire crew of Enterprise were bland with only Tucker as a partial exception.

River. I found her so annoying. I didnt like her in the show, I didn't like her in the movie, I dont like her now!

I hated that she was the center of anything and I hated that she was the center of the movie. Well I don't hate, I mean I don't take it that seriously, but I did find her story more of a nuisance than something interesting.

I don't like the actress either so I'm not sure if I didn't like the character of I just didnt like how the character was being portrayed. Everyone I have introduced Firefly to have been severly annoyed by her character so at least I know I'm not alone!

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"If you're going to hold someone down you're going to have to hold on by the other end of the chain. You are confined by your own repression.”-Toni Morrison

The entire crew of Enterprise were bland with only Tucker as a partial exception.

Archer, while admittedly not Kirk, was a solid leader figure. Phlox was especially interesting. I liked the irony of a reserved tactical chief in Reed, who gets extra points for being British. Hoshi wasn't too interesting, but was much more so than Zoe. T'Pol was a rehash of Spock/Tuvok and 7 of 9, but those were all interesting characters, and thus she was also, far more so than Kaylee, for instance. And yeah, Trip was pretty darn cool.

Again, I'll grant that Mayweather was dull, but not more so than Wash.

Apart from Mal, the Tams and maybe Book, I thought they were all pretty terrible. They actually average to less than the Enterprise crew in my eyes, and I found that crew the least interesting of all the Treks.

Truth be told, I'd be hard-pressed to come up with a show I liked that had worse characters, though in fairness, I don't like Firefly. Zoe and Wash were perfect for each other in that each was blander than the other. Jayne was a moron. Kaylee's name makes me think "porn star" every time, and she often acts like a porn star trying to be giggly, though she does that fairly well. Inara was as bland as the married couple, though she at least had an interesting face. River isn't really interesting either, I just like the rescuing-older-sibling dynamic.

That makes two good characters (Mal and Simon), one okay one (Book) and six lame ones. Even Enterprise only really had one clunker in Mayweather, and there it was as much the actor as the character.

The draws for the show and movie were Mal, the Tam story, the setting and the writing. Along with the meandering story, the characters were its biggest setback.

I'd kill (well, maybe not kill) to have characters on a Trek show as well-developed and nuanced as those on any Joss Whedon show.

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It's a FAAAAKKKEEE!
Senator Vreenak- In the Pale Moonlight